- Sand artist Manas Sahoo welcomed BRICS leaders with unique artwork.
- Artwork featured BRICS leaders and Bharat Mandapam venue.
- Business Forum underway; summit discusses trade, technology, finance.
- India’s chairship priorities: resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability.
Puri-based international sand artist Manas Kumar Sahoo has created a striking sand animation in Odisha to welcome BRICS leaders arriving in India for the 18th BRICS Summit. The summit will be hosted in New Delhi on September 12-13 under India’s 2026 chairship, with Sahoo’s artwork offering a colourful artistic welcome to the visiting leaders and delegates.
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Manas Kumar Sahoo Creates BRICS-Themed Sand Animation
Working with just a handful of sand, Sahoo has portrayed Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The artwork also includes Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, the venue associated with the BRICS Summit.
“The BRICS Summit is taking place in India, and numerous delegates are arriving. To welcome all the BRICS members, we have created a sand animation in Puri. Using just a handful of sand, we have depicted the portraits of President Putin, the President of South Africa, President Xi Jinping, and our Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Sahoo said in a conversation with ANI.
The artist said the work took eight hours to complete. He described the piece as a special welcome for the leaders and delegates attending the summit in India.
“We have also illustrated the event venue, Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, through this vibrant, colourful sand animation. It took eight hours to complete this artwork… I feel proud because it serves as a unique welcome for the delegates and BRICS leaders in India… BRICS leaders, welcome to incredible India. With this theme, we have done this sand animation,” Sahoo said.
#WATCH | Puri, Odisha | International Sand Artist Manas Kumar Sahoo creates sand art to welcome BRICS leaders to India. pic.twitter.com/p7YQr77sbi
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2026
BRICS Summit Preparations Continue In New Delhi
The artistic tribute comes as preparations for the summit continue in the national capital. The BRICS Business Forum is already underway as part of the 2026 summit, bringing together business and government representatives from member countries.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal are among the speakers at the forum.
In his opening remarks, BRICS Business Council Chair Jai Shroff said India’s BRICS chairmanship is centred on four priorities: Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. He said these priorities are relevant to both governments and businesses.
Shroff also presented BRICS as an economic network rather than simply a grouping of large markets, pointing to potential cooperation across manufacturing, technology, capital and business partnerships.
The main BRICS Summit programme is scheduled to begin on September 12. Leaders are expected to discuss initiatives under India’s presidency and measures to strengthen the strategic partnership.
The key areas on the agenda include trade, digital technology, finance, energy security, global governance reform, resilient supply chains, cross-border payments, national currencies, MSMEs, digital trade and artificial intelligence.
(With inputs from ANI)
